Delhi’s AQI ‘satisfactory’ for fifth day, Punjabi Bagh cleanest: Minister Sirsa

New Delhi: Delhi’s air quality continued to show improvement with the city recording a ‘satisfactory’ Air Quality Index (AQI) for the fifth consecutive day on Sunday.

The overall AQI stood at 92, while Punjabi Bagh emerged as the cleanest among the 13 pollution hotspots, recording an AQI of 65, Delhi Environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said in a statement.

Sirsa said the improvement came amid a stepped-up crackdown on polluting vehicles and enhanced civic measures to curb dust and waste-related pollution. In the last 48 hours, 218 end-of-life (EoL) vehicles —those older than 10 or 15 years — were impounded and 11,157 pollution challans were issued across the capital, officials said.

“Our strict action against old vehicles and field-level monitoring is producing measurable results. From citywide improvements to local success like Punjabi Bagh — Delhi is moving towards a clean air reality,” Sirsa said in the statement. The minister attributed the positive trend to targeted interventions under the Delhi Environment Action Plan 2025. These include aggressive road cleaning, anti-dust measures, and solid waste management.

In the past 24 hours, civic agencies cleared over 11,400 metric tonnes of garbage, swept more than 6,400 km of roads, sprinkled water across 1,350 km using 708 kilolitres of water, and removed 2,510 metric tonnes of construction and demolition waste, officials said.

Sirsa, who took charge as environment minister earlier this year, said the ongoing efforts are part of the broader “Viksit Delhi” vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which are being implemented under the leadership of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.

“We’re building a cleaner, healthier Delhi for our children. This progress is not by chance — it is the result of daily hard work, constant monitoring, and coordinated governance. The real success will be making this change permanent,” Sirsa said.